Motor bracket assembly for fans



Jan- 17, 1 1 c. KRAUSS 2,968,457

MOTOR BRACKET ASSEMBLY FOR FANS Filed Nov. 18, 1957 furl/W414i;

2zW/ I P 52] 7 636 United States Patent MOTOR BRACKET ASSEMBLY FOR FANS Carl 'Krauss, Lakewood Engineering & Co.,

9 212 N. Carpenter St., Chicago 7, Ill.

Filed Nov. 18, 1957, Ser. No. 697,198

2 Claims. (Cl. 248-15) The present invention relates to a mounting for a fan assembly and more particularly to a novel motor bracket assembly for fans of the type provided with offset or socalled space saving fan blades so constructed and arranged as to make necessary the mounting and supporting of the motor from the end opposite to the projected end of the drive shaft carrying the fan blades.

It has been customary to mount such motor and fan assemblies by means of a one-piece strap or cantilever type of motor bracket of substantial width having its opposite ends anchored or fastened to the fan enclosure or to the Venturi panel. This form of mounting has many inherent objections and disadvantages, among which are the following:

(1) It presents a relatively wide obstruction to the air stream directed through the fan assembly and thereby reduces the maximum possible air delivery that may be elfected which is the principal objective for such fan assemblies.

(2) Due also to the width of such strap or cantilever type of motor bracket, some of the vent holes in the adjoining end bell of the motor placed there by the manufacturer to protect the motor from overheating, are sufficiently covered or obstructed as to jeopardize the safeguards so provided by the manufacturer.

(3) Generally only two of the stud bolts of the motor are available for attachment to the motor bracket result ing in frequent breaking of these bolts when the fan assembly is subjected to shocks in shipment and careless handling.

(4) In the event the shipping carton containing such fan assembly is dropped, the weight and twisting action of the relatively heavy motor has a tendency to distort the motor bracket and to misalign the assembly and/or cause the bracket to tear itself loose from the fan enclosure or base to which it is attached.

It is, therefore, an important object of the present invention to obviate the above mentioned difficulties of the prior type of mounting for the motor whereby the flow of air in either direction through the fan is substantially unobstructed, a strong yet flexible mounting is provided for the motor to withstand severe shocks encountered in careless handling in shipment or in use, and such mounting provides an effective safeguard against misalignment of the component parts when the assembly is subjected to such shocks.

The present invention further comprehends the provision of a novel motor bracket assembly for mounting the motor of a fan in such manner as to eliminate or substantially reduce vibration between the parts and the noises inherent in the operation of the fan.

Further objects are to provide a construction of maximum simplicity, efliciency, economy and ease of assembly and operation, and such further objects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear and are inherently possessed thereby.

Figure 1 is a view in perspective taken from the rear of one form of portable ventilating or circulating fan in 2 which the motor is mounted and supported by the novel motor bracket assembly, the rear grille guard having been removed for clearer illustration of the manner of mounting the motor. 7

Fig. 2 is another perspective View of the fan assembly but taken from the front and with a portion of the front grille broken away.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of the motor bracket assembly including one of the mounting arms and its connected bridging link that is affixed to the rear end bell of the motor housing.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view, part in side elevation and part in vertical cross section of two connected arms and a bridging link of the motor bracket mounting and showing the manner in which it is assembled upon the end bell of the motor housing and Venturi of the fan.

Fig. 5 is a view in horizontal cross section through a mounting arm, the view being taken on substantially the line 5--5 of Fig. 3 but rotated through an arc of from the position shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the offset fan blades and their mounting upon the drive shaft of the motor, the view being taken on approximately the line 6 of Fig. 2.

Referring in detail to the disclosure in the drawing in which is shown an illustrative embodiment of one form of fan assembly in which the motor is mounted in accordance with the present invention, the fan 10 and its motor 11 are shown mounted within a suitable enclosure or fan housing 12 provided with a grille 13 at the front and a similar grille at the rear, and a Venturi 14 within the enclosure through which the air is directed. The fan and its operating motor are mounted centrally of the Venturi and the encompassing enclosure or housing 12.

The fan 10 and motor 11 are conventional and similar to those now employed with the fan hub 15 and its blades 16 being of the offset or so-called space saving type shown more particularly in Fig. 6 in which the hub is aflixed to the projecting end of the motor shaft 17 and this hub is so contoured that the blades project rearwardly over and rotate about the forward end of the motor housing.

To securely mount and maintain the motor 11 centrally of the Venturi 14 and enclosure 12, and yet provide a sufficiently flexible or yieldable mounting therefor whereby such mounting effectively minimizes danger of breakage or misalignment of the component parts due to rough or careless handling of the fan assembly in shipment or in use and also reduces vibration and noises encountered in operation of the fan, the present invention comprehends a novel motor bracket assembly or support. Such motor bracket assembly comprises four semi-tubular arms 18 each stamped and formed of fiat sheet steel, and a pair of bridging links 19 each end 21 of which is adapted to receive the inner end 22 of an arm 18 in the manner shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. a

Each link 19 is also formed from fiat sheet steel bent into semi-tubular contour with its ends 21 projecting at an angle from an arcuate central portion 23 contoured in such manner that when engaging the end bell 24 of the motor housing in anchoring position they partially encompass but are spaced from the bearing hub 25 projecting from the adjacent end of the motor. The arm connecting links 19 provide rigidity and accurate alignment from one end of each pair of connected brackets to the other and prevent rotation or relative movement of the motor itself.

The inner end 22 of each arm 18 is partially flattened and widened and conformably received within the inwardly opening channel of an end 21 of a bridging link 19. The overlapping ends 21 and 22 are each provided with openings adapted to be moved into registry or alignment to receive a threaded stud bolt 26 on the motor end 3 bell24 and a nut 27 for securely anchoring and retaining the bridging 'links' 19 and adjoining ends 22 of the arms 18 to the four stud bolts 26 on the motor housing.

Two arms 18 and a bridging link 19 when joined together provide a substantially 'V-shaped assembly with the two pairs of arms and their links connected in a double V or spider arrangement to the stud bolts 26. The links 19-are so disposed as to-bridge the motor in such manner that the vent holes 28in the end bell 24 at the rear of the motor remain unobstructed. These vent holes are provided by the motor manufacturer for cooling and preventing the motor from overheating. When it is appreciated that ventilating and circulating fans of this type are frequently continuously operated for long periods of time and in some homes over night, the danger of overheating can be a serious problem.

The outer end portion of each arm 18 is bent and flattened at 29 and provided with an inturned projection or flange 31 having an opening provided witha rubber grommet 32 adapted toreceive attaching means including a threaded stud or bolt 33, washer 34 and a nut 35 for anchoring this fiange- 31 to Venturi panel 36. These grommets 32 in the outer flanged end 31 of the bracket arms 18 are provided to avoid metal to metal contact in the attachment of the novel motor bracket assembly either to the Venturi panel 36 as shown, or directly to the fan enclosure 10. This will insulate and absorb most of the vibration and noises emanating from the motor and fan assembly and preventing them from being transmitted to the encompassing fan housing 10.

One important advantage of the present embodiment of motor arm and link assembly is that it makes possible mass production of these parts in an inexpensive manner and permits production thereof insmall and compact pieces as compared with'the relatively large, one piece brackets of the prior art which are more difficult and expensive to produce, Furthermore, the present novel assembly has greater flexibility of adaptation to a variety of motors, either 4 or 6 pole, in which the mounting studs may be placed or spaced apart with 60 or 90 increments.

The present novel'assembly has the further advantage that as the semi-tubular bracket arms are made from flat sheet stock, the ends can be formed or remain flat, as desired, bent at any angle and provided with the necessary openings for mounting.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. A motor bracket assembly adapted to be aflixecl to stud bolts projecting from the rear of a motor and for mounting said motor upon an encompassing support in an enclosure, said bracket assembly comprising two pairs of relatively narrow bracket arms and a connecting link for each pair of arms with said arms and links being substantially semi-tubular in cross section through the greater portion of their length and the inner end of each arm provided with a flattened end portion of increased width, each said connecting link having an arcuate central portion and angularly projecting ends of increased width with said last mentioned ends each having a channel to conformably receive theadjacent inner flattened end portion of an arm and each link being joined at each end in overlapping relation to the inner end of an arm whereby each link and its two connected arms provide a substantially V-shaped mounting bracket, the overlapping ends of said arms and said links having aligned openings to receive said stud bolts and anchor said arms and links to the rear of the motor, each of said arms being curved laterally and forwardly adjacent its outer end toward the encompassing support with each outer end having an inturned, flattened anchoring flange, and means for securing the inturned anchoring flange of each arm to the support.

2. A motor bracket assembly as set forth in claim 1, in which said inturned flattened flange of each arm is provided with an opening having a rubber grommet for receiving said securing means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,715,669 Nuttall June 4, 1929 1,873,343 Seyfried Aug. 23, 1932 2,178,401 Meyerhoefer Oct. 31, 1939 2,594,688 Shapiro Apr. 29, 1952 2,728,541 Hansel Dec. 27, 1955 2,776,089 Burrowes et a1. Jan. 1, 1957 

